Traveling Adventure

Who is braver? One who drives her older sister for two hours, or the older sister who watches her younger sister drive her the whole way!
  Well, I don't know, but I was the older sister. ;)  Ann and I got to go up to Teshio to help our Uncle Ken and Aunt Vicki Mansell (they're adopted :)) do some cleaning, sorting, or whatever. It was filling out our coupons from Christmas for them.
  The first 15 minutes of our drive, both Ann and I were a little nervous, but she was doing well, so I settled down, but have to admit, I decided against reading a book, and just kept my eyes on the road. ;)      
  Because the insurance is a lot cheaper for drivers 21 years and above, Ann had stopped driving her car until her birthday, which was just a few weeks before our trip.  This was her first big drive again. Dad and Uncle Ken both wanted to keep track of where we were, so they set up a Find Me app on their phones, and on Ann's too. :) They followed us pretty much the whole way! My, what we can do with technology these days!

Having fun with sunglasses! 

  Ann worries that she'll drive to close to the middle line in the road and maybe hit a car, sooo she ends up hugging the edge of the road sometimes.  I am not criticizing - seeing that I do not drive at all. ;) Well, I was just helping her stay in where we needed to be so as not to go into ditches. :D Once, I said, "My eyes are getting tired, so I'm going to close them for a little bit, so be careful, okay?"- half teasing her.  She said "Of course!"   About 10 seconds later, I felt a swerve to the right, the left, then right again. Quickly I opened my eyes, and Ann was grinning.  "Don't do that!", I said. But it was funny.

  Another funny was at our halfway stop in Otoineppu. We got some supper from a convenient store and was just about to pull out, when another car pulled in and a young man got out. He looked like he was some sort of business man, but with spiky hair, and a little sloppy in his dress clothes. Ann said sarcastically, "Well, doesn't he look put together!" as she was putting her foot down on the pedal. She forgot to let off the clutch, and so, "Vrooom!". The guy looked our way, and we quickly looked away! Ann said "Oh, that is so embarrassing!"  I laughed! We really weren't trying to get him to look at us foreigners! It was very funny. I guess I'm just glad it wasn't me that revved the engine. ;)

Our view when we got to Teshio! That mountain is Rishiri, an island and mountain formed
from a volcano many years ago. It's so pretty on a clear evening like this one. Rishiri and the ocean can be seen just up the hill from the Mansell's house.

  Well, anyway, I thank the Lord that we safely arrived at our destination. Uncle Ken and Aunt Vicki welcomed us gladly and we "partied" as Uncle Ken puts it. We played a game and had frozen strawberry jello pie! :)  Then to bed to sleep before our busy day at work. :)
  The next morning, had breakfast and devotions together, then Ann and Uncle Ken headed to the garage/workshop to work on cleaning out lots of stuff. Tons of old cardboard was flattened and put in our car to take back because we have a big place to throw it away in Nayoro.  It filled the car very full! Ann had lots of fun helping Uncle Ken "toss" as many things as she could get him to toss. :)

As you can see, no room for hitch-hikers! Um, not that we'd pick any up anyway. You know, I don't think I've ever seen one here in Japan either!

Didn't get any pictures of Aunt Vicki's and my work. We worked on cleaning out a bed room, to take a bed down, then up into the attic. In the afternoon, we worked in the kitchen. I thoroughly cleaned out several drawers and organized them again, while Aunt Vicki cleaned out her pantry. It was really nice to just fellowship and visit about all sorts of things. Ann enjoyed her one-on-one visiting time with Uncle Ken, too. :)

They are very special to us, and I thank the Lord for them, and their faithfulness to Him up in Teshio.

For lunch, we were treated with very yummy steaks from Uncle Ken's grill, mashed potatoes and green salad. Mmmm! :) Got to eat together outside on their deck.

Before supper, the three of us gals went down to the ocean to see the sunset and take a few pictures together.

The next morning on Saturday, Uncle Ken and Aunt Vicki took us out to see some new pretty flowers in Sarobetsu. It has a very nice walking bridge, and it's very pretty out there. We met people from all over Japan that come to see the wild flowers here. Uncle Ken got to give some tracts to some camera men that were watching for birds. :)

We headed back home early afternoon. The Lord gave us a safe trip all the way back. Despite my teasing, Ann is a very good driver, and it was a lot of fun being able to go with her and have time together. I thank the Lord for my sisters, and I want to cherish the moments God gives each day!

Posted by - Emilie